North Adams Restaurant to Reopen With Med Menu

The set-to-open Mediterra will offer Mediterranean dishes, a sampling of which was offered at a recent gathering of business and cultural representatives.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Local is undergoing a name and menu change.

The restaurant at 67 Main St. was closed over the weekend and is set to reopen on Wednesday as Mediterra, with a new menu of Mediterranean dishes along with some American bistro-style option.

According to a statement through the North Adams Chamber of Commerce, owner Fahri Karakaya, who opened the restaurant last year with sandwich and breakfast offerings, has been considering the change for some time.

"It was always in my mind to open a Mediterranean restaurant. After operating The Local for over a year, I have realized that there were many similar restaurant concepts in the area, but no Mediterranean cuisine," he said. "Many of The Local guests constantly asked if I was thinking of making a change, and here I am. I am running toward my dream."

Karakaya previewed some of the dishes at a recent gathering to update the area on coming events, including the Solid Sound Festival. He said he has found an experienced chef to execute the new menu of Turkish, Italian, Greek and Lebanese selections.

"I am proud of my Turkish heritage and am looking forward to sharing this with my guests," he said.

Several upgrades have been made to the kitchen as well as painting and redecorating the dining room.

With the change, Mediterra will be open for lunch and dinner during the week, and will also include traditional breakfast choices on the weekend. The restaurant also offers beer and wine.

Hours will be Tuesday to Friday beginning at 11 and serving dinner; breakfast will be offered on the weekends beginning at 8 a.m. Closed Mondays.

For more information, 413-346-4172.

Eat To Total Health Opening On Ashland Street

By John DurkaniBerkshires Staff03:50PM / Saturday December 15, 2012

Renee Tassone poses in front of the counter at her new store Eat To Total Health, located at 14 Ashland St., which is set to open Dec. 26.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Renee Tassone's business Eat To Total Health is moving from her home to 14 Ashland St. on Dec. 26.

"We can heal our bodies from everything with the right tools and it doesn't have to come from a pill," Tassone said.

Tassone drew from her own experience with Celiac disease, which is a condition that makes the body react negatively with gluten and prevents the small intestine's lining from absorbing essential food parts.

"I realized how our connection between food and health is important," Tassone said.

The shop has two aspects — a "cleansing" program and and sales of healthy food.

Tassone said the program, which costs $30, starts with an hour-and-a-half consultation in person or by phone. She then helps the client create a program fitting to his or her goals. Tassone keeps in touch for adjustments and coaching. The program, on average, runs about three weeks, but Tassone said that many of her clients continue to eat healthy beyond the program.

Her shop will sell various health foods and smoothies. The meals will be vegan and allergy free. At her home, Tassone delivered meals and smoothies to customers at their work or home. That service will continue, but now people have the option of also picking up the foods or drinks from the shop or sitting down and dining in.

Pet food will also be on sale, as well as other products such as protein powders, health books and movies, and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Tassone began consulting friends last January and the program "snowballed" from there. She consults roughly 40 people at any given time from various states as far away as Florida. Tassone said she's served about 400 people, all satisfied.

In August on her drive home from work, Tassone was excited by the prospect of selling home-cooked premade meals. She tested it out at first, posting to her Facebook what she was making and that she was taking orders. Tassone expected a couple orders, but instead ended up with more than 30. She currently serves about 100-150 meals each week. Meals typically range from $5 to $11 and she delivers as far out as Bennington, Vt., and Pittsfield.

"It kind of fell into place to open a shop," Tassone said.

When the Ashland Street location opened up, Tassone jumped at the opportunity to rent from First Congregational Church. SLC Contractors, based out of Clarksburg, is currently renovating the 700 square-foot space.

The store is located on 14 Ashland St. and will be open from Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. through 7 p.m. and on Saturday, noon to 5. For more information, check out the store's website or Facebook page.

'Five Guys' Brings Famed Burgers & Fries to Pittsfield

Customers were lined up for the debut of Five Guys' famed burgers. Writer Joe Durwin was No. 90.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Five Guys Burger and Fries opened to a steady stream of first-time lunch customers Tuesday at its new Pittsfield location at 660 Merrill Road in the Stop & Shop Plaza.

Nearly 100 customers were served in the first half-hour by a bustling staff of 15 workers. The establishment employs a total of 45, according to its manager, Tom Pierog.

"We just opened, but so far, so good," he said.

The restaurant's bright white and red interior is heavily decorated with signs advertising various awards and favorable reviews from publications areas around the country, such as the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, Washington Post and GQ Magazine.

As its name suggests, Five Guys' simple menu consists mainly of burgers and fries, as well as hot dogs and veggie and cheese sandwiches. Burgers range in price from around $4 to $6, with fries running from around $3 to $5.

Five Guys began renovating the former Falcetti Music store location in late spring, but had encountered "issues" that lead to delay, according to Building Commissioner Gerald Gardner last month, who did not disclose the nature of those issues.

Since Five Guys began preparing the Merrill Road location, its nearest fast-food competitor, a Burger King franchise located next door to the plaza, has closed for business, along with two other area locations controlled by the same owner. While originally said to be temporary, the locations soon after had all Burger King signage stripped from the buildings in what appears to be a more permanent closure.

Customers surveyed leaving from the new restaurant's first lunch rush (and probably heading back to work) were short on words but big on enthusiasm. A number of "greats" and a couple of "yums" as they went about their way, while one young man flashed a dramatic thumbs up to this correspondent as he slid the last of his fries in his mouth.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries is open 11 to 10 seven days a week. The full menu and more information, including online ordering (but, alas, no delivery), can be found at www.fiveguys.com.

The Haflinger Haus in the former Harrington's Restaurant on Commercial Street is open for business with a menu filled with Austrian favorites. The restaurant and inn had a soft opening on Monday — opening for the dinner hours.

"It's got charm," said 25-year restaurant business veteran Dan Dougherty, who is the general manager. "It reminds me of walking into 1925."

The historic building was purchased last December by former Selectman Donald Sommer as a "reclamation project." Sommer and his family purchased the building for $110,000 and has put what Dougherty estimates is about $100,000 worth of renovations into it. The goal, Sommer previously said, is to "bring life into the building" after it has sat dormant since 2010.

Sommer hired Alexis Girhiny, former director of career services and instructor at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, as head chef. Girhiny boasts more than 25 years in culinary including two stays in south Germany, where she learned to cook Austrian food.

"I lived in a town that borders Austria for six years. I understand the whole 'hearty' culture," Girhiny said on Thursday.

There are four rental rooms upstairs.

Sommers often travels to Austria, which is his heritage, and owns Haflinger horses, for which he named the restaurant and decorated with photos of — bringing that culture to a town that has no other restaurants like it.

The Haflinger Haus will be open from 5 until 9 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and from 5 until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It will be closed on Mondays. The tavern will open at 4 p.m. The menu is available below.

Once reconstruction is completed on the porches, which Dougherty said will "hopefully be completed in a month," there will be outdoor seating. Four upstairs rooms were renovated for rental so the restaurant operates as an inn as well.

The last two operations out of that location, once the Adams Rest Home, went into foreclosure. The first was Silvia's Inn and the second, Harrington's Restaurant. Succeeding where others have failed will be based on providing "good food, good service at a fair price," Sommers previously said.

Williamstown Farmers' Market Opens Saturday

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williamstown Farmers Market returns to the Spring Street parking lot on Saturday, May 28. The new hours of the market are Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

There will be a wide variety of locally grown produce and cheeses, organic meats, homemade baked goods, and original handcrafted items.

Some of the vendors include:

Cricket Creek Farm – Artisan Cheeses and Baked Goods
Raw milk cheeses, Tobasi and Maggie’s Round as well as newly added fresh, pasteurized cheese in a number of flavors. Also bread, cookies, muffins, scones and granola made in the in-farm bakery.
Contact: Lesley Graham, 413-458-5888 or www.cricketcreekfarm.com.

BabyCakes
Williamstown’s favorite little cakes in chocolate, chocolate raspberry, lemon, almond. Grandma-style crumbcake, too. Six-inch diameter cake serves six to eight. Baked in a certified kitchen in Williamstown using King Arthur flour, butter, local eggs and fruit in season. They often sell out early so an email or phone call to reserve your favorite flavor is encouraged.
Contact: Judy Turbin, 413-458-9930, Helene Armet, 413-458-8778, or BabyCakes2468@gmail.com.

Peace Valley Farm
Small family farm in South Williamstown supplying fresh produce to local restaurants, Williams College, and the Farmers’ Market. They will join the market starting around the third week in June when they have available a variety of greens and sugar snap peas. As the season progresses, more and more vegetables become available. Note that they do not sell directly from the farm.
Contact: Bill and Susie Stinson, 413-458-4866 or peacevalleyfarm@gmail.com.

Memphremagog Studios
Born on the Vermont lake that bears her studio’s name, award-winning artist Emily Beth Errion creates a distinctive line of original, handcrafted jewelry, embossed glass, and specialty gift designs in the Green Mountain State.

Sweet Brook Farm
This South Williamstown farm offers maple syrup, maple candy and cream, maple-roasted nuts, alpaca roving and yarns, and fresh seasonal vegetables. Farm store is also open to the public from Memorial Day through Labor Day, seven days a week, 10 to 6.
Contact: Pete and Beth Phelps, 413-884-4246, 877-45-SYRUP, www.sweetbrookfarm.mybigcommerce.com.

Peterman Boards and Bowls
The handcrafted wooden bowls and boards by Spencer Peterman of Turners Falls that made Oprah's "O" list in January come in cherry, black walnut and spalted maple. These museum store and gallery seconds are half off his regular retail prices.
Contact: Andree Clearwater, 413-834-0833.

jennydewjewels
Original designs in silver, gold, as well as original takes and twists on beading. The artist creates pieces during the market as well and custom designs on the spot as well.
Contact: Jenny Dewar, jennydewjewels@aol.com. www.jennydew.com.